Obama still lagging among Jewish voters
Barack Obama leads John McCain by 27 points among Jewish voters, but he significantly trails the Jewish vote for recent Democratic candidates, according to a new survey.
Obama leads 57 percent to 30 percent among those polled in the American Jewish Committee's 2008 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, with 13 percent undecided.
By contrast, John Kerry received 76 percent of the Jewish vote four years ago against George W. Bush, and in the three prior presidential elections, Democrats won 78 to 80 percent of Jewish votes. Obama backers have argued in recent weeks that Jewish numbers for Kerry were similar at this stage in the race, but the 2004 AJC survey doesn't back them up. Taken three weeks earlier in that campaign than this year, it found Kerry leading Bush 69 percent to 24 percent.
The poll by survey research organization Synovate of 914 self-identifying Jewish respondents, selected from Synovate's consumer mail panel, was conducted by telephone Sept. 8-21. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
McCain enjoyed a 78 percent to 13 percent lead among Orthodox Jews, but Obama won easily among all other Jewish groups: Conservatives, 59 percent to 26 percent; Reform, 62 percent to 27 percent; and those calling themselves "just Jewish," 61percent to 26 percent.
McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate was unpopular in the Jewish community, according to the survey. Just 37 percent approved, with 54 percent disapproving of the selection. By contrast, Obama's choice of Joe Biden garnered 73 percent approval and 15 percent disapproval.
The economy was seen as the most important issue. Fifty-four percent of respondents said that was the one issue they would "most like the candidates to discuss," with 11 percent answering health care, 6 percent the war in Iraq and just 3 percent answering Israel.
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My theory is that generations of existing as a persecuted minority in ghettos have created the widespread, knee-jerk tendency for many Jews in identifying with Liberal-Left politics.
You can take the Jew out of the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Jew.
Biden’s Middle East record should also be a concern to Jewish voters.
In 1992, Biden threatened Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin with withdrawing U.S. aid if Israel did not stop settlements in Judea and Samaria.
In 1998, Biden was one of four in the Senate who voted against the Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act.
In 2001 after 9-11 Biden stated, “this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran” and “Al Qaeda must be destroyed. But to compare terrorism with an all-encompassing ideology like communism and fascism is evidence of profound confusion.”
In 2002, Biden received $30,000 from a campaign fund-raiser at the California home of Dr. Sadegh Namazi-khah, a well-known supporter of the Iranian mullahs.
In 2004, Biden stated, “What the world needed to address was Iran’s emotional needs” and he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi in Davos, Switzerland to discuss a non-agression pact.
In 2007, Biden (and Obama) voted against declaring the Iran’s Al Quds Revolutionary Guards as terrorists. The Guards are responsible for killing Americans in Iraq, Jews in Buenos Aires and are behind killings throughout the Middle East. In 2007, Biden also stated, “Iran is not a nuclear threat to the United States of America.”
In 2008, a few weeks ago, Biden told Israeli officials that they should get used to a nuclearized Iran.
Jewsvote.org’s The Great Schlep underscores the juvenile and immature nature of the entire Obama campaign. I will encourage the RJC and others to make sure the “Bubbies” in Florida see it so they will know exactly what kind of people they are dealing with.
Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?
The video is 10 minutes and you might have to pause it to read it because it moves quickly. It is worth the view. It helps really to understand the crisis we’re in and how it started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o&eurl=http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/
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Bill Levinson
09/25/08 04:02 PM
This is disgusting. Don’t Jewish voters know about Obama’s open association with racists and anti-Semites (e.g. Al Sharpton) of the worst kind? Obama is on record as endorsing Sharpton, and it’s not a rumor or urban legend; Sharpton’s own Web site says so.